Back in 2007, when Vladimir Kramnik lost to Viswanathan Anand at the world championship in the tournament format in Mexico, the Russian had commented, “I have just lent the title to Anand”. Little did he know that his own words would come back to haunt him exactly a year later. Anand defeated his old nemesis in the match format in Bonn to claim supremacy in all the formats of chess.
There have been many sportspersons for whom we can say that they have won everything that is there to be won. Probably Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali would feature in that elite list. Viswanathan Anand, after winning the world chess championship at Bonn, joins the league of extraordinary gentlemen.
Thirty-eight-year-old Anand, who began his career in 1984 has had a penchant for breaking world records. At the age of 15, he became the youngest international master and subsequently a grandmaster at the young age of 18. He was referred to as ‘The lightening kid’ as he played at blitz speed.
Anand rubbed shoulders against legendary names Gary Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov and Gata Kamsky as he slowly started to make a name for himself in the international chess circuit.
Yet he never managed to come out on top of them at the biggest stage. Though he did beat both Karpov and Kasparov at an event in Reggo Amelia in 1992, the ultimate accolade in chess continued to elude him.
His most famous battle was against Kasparov in the 1995 World Championship which was held atop the World Trade Centre in New York. Anand gave the Russian legend a run for his money and lost narrowly in the end.
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It was at the turn of the new millennium that Anand cemented his place among the greats by winning the World Championship against Alexei Shirov. Anand was the first non-soviet after Bobby Fischer to become the world champion.
Anand has won the Chess Oscar five times, an accolade given to the year’s best player according to a world-wide poll of leading chess critics, writers, and journalists conducted by the Russian chess magazine 64.
Anand’s team-mate SS Ganguly once described Anand as an “extremely cool player and someone who never panics whatever be the situation”. He stopped travelling with a coach a long time back and travels to events all alone. Based out of Madrid, he makes sure he visits India whenever he can.
He has been one of the few genuine sporting heroes that India has produced. Yet one never sees him too much or hears about him. In a country where one moment of glory can make you the “next big thing”, Anand has always been the big, no make that, the best thing around, yet he firmly keeps his feet on the ground. To him, it has always been about recognition as the ultimate champion in his sport. The events at Bonn last week have made sure that Anand will go down in history as one of the best chess players of all time.
Soon after winning the title at Bonn, a scribe queried whether he will have the motivation to compete after winning everything. He just replied, “Now that I have won it once, I want to do it again.” Trust the man to live up to his promise. After all it is something he has been doing for two decades now.